A 15th District Court judge acquitted two men of 48 counts of dogfighting on Wednesday.

The judge said a state prosecutor failed to provide substantial evidence of their involvement in the illegal sport.

Floyd Boudreaux, 74, and his son Guy Boudreaux, 44, were on trial for three days for the charges after being arrested more than three years ago.

The men faced the charges after an investigation led Louisiana State Police officers on March 11, 2005, to seize 57 pit bulls the officers believed were being used for illegal dogfighting. The dogs were seized from the men's Youngsville home.

Dogfighting has been illegal since 1982.

Investigators also seized and photographed items prosecutor Ronald Dauterive referred to as items associated with the training of dogs for dog fighting.

Those included home videos, dogfighting magazines, treadmills, break sticks and steroids, among other items.

During the seizure, the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals took custody of the animals and euthanized them the next day.

This left the defendants' attorney, Jason Robideaux, questioning why further investigation of the animals was not conducted before they were killed.

On Wednesday, prosecution witness Kathyrn Destreza with SPCA could not answer who gave direct orders to kill the dogs before the lead investigator and witness trooper Jacob Dickinson was notified.

The trial began Monday afternoon after the defendants waived their rights to a jury and opted for a judge to make a decision on the case.

The case began to unravel for Dauterive on Wednesday after Robideaux was granted the motion to exclude the prosecution's expert witness from the case.

Kathy Strouse, a superintendent for the Chesapeake Animal Control Unit in Virginia, was brought in as an expert witness by the United States Humane Society. She was involved in the dogfighting prosecution of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick.

Vick pleaded guilty to a federal dogfighting conspiracy charge in August 2007.

Strouse also testified that she helped investigate and testify against another Virginia man who was convicted of dogfighting charges.

The 15th Judicial District Court Judge Kristian Earls agreed with Robideaux's argument that Strouse's experience was not adequate, as this would have been the first time she was an expert witness in a case she had not helped investigate.

She was also not considered an expert because she had not established herself as an expert through written works.

Earlier in the trial, Dauterive brought forth veterinarian Wendy Wolfson, who reviewed her evaluation of the dogs at the scene during the seizure.

She testified that many of them had scar tissue and scars on the front of their bodies, which usually results from dogfighting.

But this, Robideaux argued, is all the prosecution had that stood as evidence that dogfighting may have taken place among the dogs.

Break sticks, which are used to pry open a pit bull's mouth, were used as evidence against the defendants.

But the sticks had no visible bite marks.

Home videos showed dog training and some dogfighting, but never showed either defendant as taking part of the activities.

"The only evidence the state has is scars," Robideaux said adding that the veterinarian was not able to date the scars or verify who had custody of the dogs before the defendants.

Dauterive said that although no single piece of evidence conclusively pointed to the Boudreauxs engaging in dogfighting, the "cumulative nature of the evidence" demonstrated that the illegal sport was being done.

But Earls agreed that the evidence was not enough.

"I'm not firmly convinced," he said.

The Boudreaux family and friends were overcome with emotion as they hugged and cried after the judge gave his ruling.

Guy Boudreaux, a single parent, said he is relieved that he can finally go back to raising his son after "3 1/2 years of having to worry" about his future.

Excluded Kathy Strouse as a non-expert...that Judge has poopy for brains!

I cracked up at the "hasn't established herself through written works"...oookkkaaaayyyy so let's see as an investigator she should write a book about what she is looking for, where her evidence comes from, how she collects it and how the evidences is processed and authenticated...that way dog fighters know how to avoid prosecution...something stinks here to me.

The prosecution didn't make the case. Plenty of us have dogs with scars, "fighting paraphernalia", and dogs that have to be kept separated. If that is all it takes to get locked up we're in REAL trouble. Sure, we "know" that Boudreaux was a dog fighter, but in court what you "know" means nothing. It's about what you can prove.

I would have liked to see a conviction, but not based on what was presented as evidence. We have to be careful here or the AR wackos will be putting a few of us in the same cell Boudreaux would have found himself in.

Demo Dick

"My first priority will be to reinstate the assault weapons ban PERMANENTLY as soon as I take office...I intend to work with Congress on a national no carry law, 1 gun a month purchase limits, and bans on all semi-automatic guns."-Barack Obama"When in doubt, whip it out."-Nuge

airwalk wrote:I'm in agreement Demo. If they didn't make the case, they didn't make the case. It's too bad but in court you have to be able to prove what you "know".

Yep, the only thing that came out of this is a LOT of good dogs died. They did not have a case or it would not have taken so long to get to this point. And we know he used to be a dog fighter but he claims to have not fought dogs in years, they could not prove he did. They swooped in, killed the dogs & destroyed evidence. If there WAS any.

There's a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line.

I'm afraid I cannot sign it. I know what it takes to hold that many dogs for as long as it takes to manage a legal trial process. I know it breaks the backs of even the biggest organizations and isn't humane for the animals.

The SPCA wasn't the driver on this particular case and I don't know enough of the details to be able to speak knowledgably about the case.

During the seizure, the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals took custody of the animals and euthanized them the next day.

This left the defendants' attorney, Jason Robideaux, questioning why further investigation of the animals was not conducted before they were killed.

On Wednesday, prosecution witness Kathyrn Destreza with SPCA could not answer who gave direct orders to kill the dogs before the lead investigator and witness trooper Jacob Dickinson was notified.

The La. SPCA did kill these dogs. They held them 1 day before doing it. I'm sure it is expensive to house the dogs. So is going to court with no evidence. There would not be as big an uproar had they not killed he dogs immediately. Who told them to kill them? Doesnt appear that anyone did. They could do the same thing to any of our dogs, that ain't right. Had they been trying to prove ANY thing but a dog fighting case I am sure they would have found a way to house them.

There's a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line.